Working with government to remove hateful content: Facebook

New Delhi, Aug 21 (IANS) Social networking website Facebook Tuesday said it is working with the government to remove “hateful content” that is widely being perceived as likely to spark communal tension across the country.

“Facebook will remove content which breaches our terms as set out in our statement of rights and responsibilities. Content or individuals can be removed from Facebook for a variety of reasons, including issuing direct calls for violence or perpetuating hate speech,” the company spokesperson told IANS.

“We have received requests from Indian authorities and agencies and are working through those requests and responding to the agencies. We encourage people to continue to use our tools to report content they are concerned about so that we can investigate and take action fast,” he added.

This is against the backdrop of the online hate campaign targeting people from the northeast which has put the spotlight on the power of the social media network in India, which accounts more than 60 million users.

The unprecedented exodus of people from the northeast, abetted by hate messages, has also opened the debate about issues related to internet freedom and content regulation.

India, which is looking into the alleged role of Pakistan-based elements in using morphed images on internet, has blocked over 250 websites for orchestrating the online campaign of hatred.

According to a report by iCRossing, nearly 36 million people in the country use Facebook.

Of these, nearly 50 percent users are aged below 50. Estimates for 2012 posted on the India pages of various network sites show that microblogging site Twitter and LinkedIn have nearly 15 million users each in India.